Firecracker tube rolling machine



March 14, 19 33.

W. F. GONGAWARE FIRECRACKER TUBE ROLLING MACHINE Filed Aug. 24, 1951 5Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR, MTG-o 7 a ua'rq ATT RNEY March 14, 1933.

INVENTOR,

WWGvnyayar;

aW' ATTORNEY March 14, 1933.

W. F. GONG-AWARE FIRECRACKER TUBE ROLLING MACHINE Filed Aug. 24, 1931 5Sheets-Sheet aw/ ATTORNEYZ.

March 14, 1933. w R GONG-AWARE 1,900,928

FIRECRACKER TUBE] ROLLING MACHINE Filed Aug. 24, 1931 5 Sheets-Sheet 4TTORNEY March 14, 1933. w F. GONGAWARE 1,900,928

FIRECRACKER TUBE ROLLING MACHINE Filed Aug. 24, 1931 5 Sheets-$heet 5 INVEN TOR 74!]76owy ware;-

' ATTORNEY l Patented Mar. 14, 1933 PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM F. ooneAWARnor SANTA MoNIoA, CALIFORNIA rIREcRAcKEa ruinsnominee MACHINE Application filed August 24, 1931. Serial No. 558,879.

This invention relates to a machine and a chine may embody means forproducing one method for making tubes especially for the manufacture ofClnnese firecrackers.

It is an object of the invention to provide a method and machine for therapid and prac tical production of jackets or tubes to be filled with anexplosive. A'further object is to provide for the production of a tubewhich is of convolutewinding and is a-thoroughly I compacted structureso as to have an inherent touglinessespecially desirable infire-crackerstructure so as to obtain a lOUClClBtODfttlOli scope, principle andspirit of the invention when exploded.

An additional object is to provide a means and method for production ofa firecracker tube in which there is made'a crimp orf old of the stripof material such, for instance, as ribbon paper'although it isto beunderstood that the blank material usedin the production of the tube maybe of any de sired character, property or nature. In this connection, anobject of providing a crimp or fold in the wound coils of the strip isto obtain a greater toughness of the tube and 'thcrebyto increase thenoiseof explosion when the fire-cracker is ignited.

A further object is to provide a continu-- ous action machine in whichthe ribbonorstrip of stock is continuously advanced from a supply rolland is cut into pieces or strips of predetermined length and are fed toa core andplaten means whereby the leading end of the advanced strip orblank of stock is caught up and coiled on the core andsub-v {Jected toaspinning motion by action of the platen and is concurrently subjectedto a compacting or compressing efiectby a pres sure means. Further,means are provided whereby to apply a liquid adhesive to the -trailingend of the winding blank so that the trailing end will be pasted down onthe body of the tubein due sequence, during operation, and means. areprovided to effect the automatic ejection of the finished tube from themachine.

To obtain economical operation. it an object toprovide a multiplex typeof machine for the concurrent spinning or coiling of a plurality of thefire-cracker tubes at one time, though it is to be understood that thema or more tubes concurrently. I I

The invention, consists in certain advancements in this art as setforthin the ensuing disclosure and having, with the above, addi- 55 tionalobjects and advantages, and whose construction, combination and detailsof means, and the manner of operation Will be made manifest in thedescription of the herewith illustrative embodiment; -it being un- 60derstoodthat modifications, variations and adaptations mayv be resortedto within the as it is more directly claimed hereinafter.

Figure l is a plan of the machine. Figure 6 diagrammatic view oftheaction of the parts in feeding and crimping a strip of stock. Figure7 is a sectional detail of the core, ele-' vator device. Figure 8 is aperspective of a rolled, firecracker tube as produced by the 8 machine.

In the present apparatus a reel of ribbonlike stock S ofsuitablematerial, preferably tough paper is placed upon suitable bearings 2conveniently disposed on a frame 3;, the strip feeding to a guide trough4 of complementary width 'to a strip of stock which passes under guardbridges 5 and 5.

In the present apparatus the machine is designed for handling aplurality of strips S arranged in parallelism and passing to duplicaterolling and operating mechanism to produce a suitably sized fire-crackertubeT,

8. Each strip S passes to and between an up per cutter cylinder 6 and alower coacting feed'roller 7 these being provided, preferably withfriction faces 8 to effectively engage the' strip S and feed it to afixed guide box lOfrom whence it passes over a flipper arm 1 nd u der afountain cylinder shell 12 above which is a fountain cylinder 13receiving a liquid adhesive from a fountain 14.

The advancing strip S, moving under the shell 12, enters a guide channelor conduit 15 provided on an oscillating carrier 16 by which thedischarge end 17 Fig. 6, of the guide conduit 15 is normally held inlowered position just over a friction platen 18, fixed on a spinningshaft 19.

Parallel and adjacent to the platen 18 is a shaft or core 20 which isadapt-ed to bodily shift laterally and also to freely rotate. This is sodisposed that the leading end of the strip S will pass under it while inengagement with the spinning platen 18.

Means are provided to facilitate the coiling or winding of the strip ofstock S onto the core 20 and this is shown as including an endless,travelling belt 21 which bends around a fixed axis drive drum 22 on aspinning shaft 23. The loop of the belt 21 also passes around a guideroller 24 and from thence to a parallel and somewhat spaced guide roller25; these rollers being mounted on an oscillating carrier 26 fixed on arocker shaft 27 which is parallel and close to the driving drum shaft23.

When the roller carrier 26 is in lower effective position, Fig. 6, thebelt 21 is pressed in an are between the rollers 24 and 25 and againstthe interposed core 20 or windings of the stock strip S; the belt 21therefore constituting a presser device pressing the winding tube, onthe core 20, against the spinning platen 18; both the driving presserbelt 21 and the platen 18 coacting to spin and to compactly wrap thewindings of the tube on the core 20.

A feature of the present method of malt ing the fire-cracker tube is toform a crimp or fold transversely across the strip as it passes betweenthe core 20 and the spinning platen 18 and this is accomplished by acrimping blade 30 which is adapted to be moved down in front of theissue end 17 of the feed conduit 15 and this is adapted to rise as thecrimping blade 30 acts thereby to form a crease which will be rolledunder the leading end of the strip S coming from the conduit 15.

It is desirable to paste down the trailing end S of the strip beingwound on the core 20 and this is done by an upward movement of theflipping blade 11 to bring the end S against the paste roller 13 at amoment subsequent to the action of the crimping blade 30. Therefore asthe trailing end S of the strip passes between the wound tube on thecore and the platen 18 the trailing end will be pasted down underpressure of the presser belt 21 which then is immediately thrown upwardto the position shown in Fig. 3 so as to clear the tube of paper whichis on the core 20.

As the roller carrier 26 lifts the belt 21 out of the way a finger 31attached to the rocker shaft and acting with it presses an elevator 32inwardly so that its wedge 33 will pass between the core 20 and theplaten 18 so as to separate the tube T Fig. 7 from the platen and enablethe ejection of the tube T endwise from the core 20. After the tube Thas been ejected the elevator 32 is retracted by the finger 31 to allowthe core to again bear on the platen 18 in readiness for the nextincoming strip S.

Driving and actuating means and devices for the above describedmechanisms will now be described in detail; the upper feed roller 6,which has a suitable cutter (3, is secured on a shaft 35 on which isfixed a driving pulley 36 engaged by a driving belt 37 looped on adriving pulley 38 which is fixed on the main. or drive shaft 40 havingsuitable bearings ll conveniently supported on a frame structure Thelower feed roller 7 is mounted on a yieldably mounted shaft 4.3 insuitable bearings in the frame 3 and has a mortise 7 to receive thecutter 6' for effective separation of the strip S while the leading endthereof is engaged between the core 20 and the platen 18 and the tubestarted on the platen.

It is desirable to momentarily put a drag on the strip S at the instantof action of the cutter 6' and for this purpose a brake device 14: isprovided and is a tuated by a striking finger 45 fixed on the shaft 35and being positioned to apply the brake device at to the strip S at themoment of action of the cutter 6; the brake being automaticallyretracted by a spring l6 operating on a part of the brake device.

The fountain or paste roller 13 is fixed on a spinning shaft 47 which isconnect-ed by a suitable transmission means 48 to the main shaft 40 sothat the fountain roller 13 is constantly rotating.

The platen shaft 19 is constantly rotated by a suitable transmissionmeans here shown as including a transmission belt -19 engaging a pulley50 fixed on the shaft 19 and a relative pulley 51 fixed on the mainshaft -10.

Power is transmitted to the shaft 23 of the spinning roller 22. to drive21, by a. suitable transmission from main shaft 40 and shown asincluding a belt from main shaft pulley 53 to pulley 54 fixed on thespinning shaft 23.

In the present structure the several shafts 19, 23, 35, and 47 extendacross the top bed structure of the frame 42 and are mounted in suitablebearings thereon and are adapted for the operation of the duplicatefeeding, winding, and crimping mechanisms above described; though it isto be understood that only a single train of mechanism may be employedif so desired for the pro- 59 having pivot 60 in a suitable bearing partof the frame and which lever isengaged by an actuating crank61 which issecured on a timing, countershaft 62, mounted in suitable bearing partsand on which is fixed a gear 63engaging and driven by a complementarygear 64 fixed on the main shaft 40.

The crank 61 and the lever 59 and link 56 form means whereby rollercarrier 28 is intermittently raised to a position shown in Figs. v2 and3 to lift the belt 21 out of the way of a set of ejector bars-65; whoselower ends straddle the core 20 atpositions near the inner ends of thetube being wound on the core. The ejector bars 65 are shown in Fig. 4 asfixed to slides 66 and 67 operating in opposite directions on a fixedrail 68 whose ends are fixed on brackets 69. The ejector slides 6667 areretractively connected by a suitable spring 70 and their outer ends areengaged by upright side levers 71-72 which have pivots 73 in the sidesof the frame 42; the lower ends of the ejector levers.7 172 beingpivotally connected at 74 to the outer ends of reciprocating rods 75+-76 which'are mounted in appropriate bearings 77. On the inner ends ofthe reciprocating rods 7 576 are rollers 78 which are pulled, throughaction of ,the spring 70, against appropriate cams 79 which are fixed ona cam shaft 80 in suitable journals and having a large gear 81 engagingand driven by a pinion 82 on the main shaft 40.

The cam shaft'80 is so timed as to oscillate the ejector levers 7172 andshift the ejector 65 outwardly to eject the finished tubes from the core20 immediately following the lifting motion of the presser belts 21 byaction of the push rod 56.

Also secured on the rock-shaft 27 Fig. 2

is an arm 83 forming means whereby a set V of gates 14 of the pastefountain 14 are momentarily opened at about the time the presser belts21 are elevated forthe'purpose of discharging a small quantity ofadhesive fluid onto the rotating paste roller 13. The arm 83 in movingdown engages a cooperating arm 84 fixed on a transverse rock-shaft 85 onwhich are securedthe carriers 16 of the guides or conduits 15 leading tothe platen 18. The downward movement of the arm 84'serves to lower theguide channels or conduits 15 to a position leadingthe incoming strip orstrips S one in each guide, to the top of the platen 18 and under theemptycore 20; this being pressed downward by light springs 20 Fig. 7.Secured to the rockshaft 85 is an arm-86 carrying a pawl 87 which actson the up stroke of the arm '86 to engage a gate lever 88 having a shaft89 journalled on the paste fountain -14 and to which are connected gates14 closing the bottom outlets of the fountain 14. The gate arm '88 ispulled'to gate-closing position by a spring'90; the opening action ofthe pawl 87 being momentarilyon the gate lever 88 during upward strokeof the arm 86; the return stroke passingthe pawl without operatingeffect on the gate arm 88. I

As the end S" of astrip of paper passes overtheflipper 11 this isactuated by means of a link 11 whose lower end is connected to a lever91 having a pivot 92 and provided with a cam pin 93 engaged by acrankpin 94 fixed on the timing shaft 62 and which operates, as itengages the pin 93 to push the flipper rod 11 upwardly and thereby swingthe flipper 11 upwardly to carry the trailing end S of the strip againstthe paste roll 13. The flipper and its connected link 11 are retractedinstantly by a spring 95 as soonas released from the actuating crank 94.

For the purpose of intermittently moving the crimping blade30 down tocrimp the strip passing under the core 20 the'blade is connected to across-head 'fixed to aplunger 101 on which is secured a tappet 102 andadapted to be engaged in a crank pin 103, here shownas carriedby thegear 63. The plunger 'lOlis normally elevated by a spring 104, Fig. 6,to a clearposition. As the plunger moves down itcarries a finger 105against a shoulderon a lever 106 pushing one end of this lever down andthe opposite end up so as to thrust a link 107 upward. This linkis'connected at 108 to the rocking carrier 16. Thereforeas the crimpingblade 30 is moved down by the plunger 101 this acts through the link 107to raise the issue end 17 of the guide conduit 15 to facilitate crimpingaction. The guide conduits 15 are depressed to normal position by actionof the rocker shaft 85 when the lever 84 is actuated by the push rod56;this action lifting the presser belts 21 to permit operation of theejectors 65.

I The rock-shaft 85 and its attached conduits 15 are frictionallyretained in position with the guides 15 in normal feeding position by abrake device 84 fixed on the arm 84.

The presser belt 21 is drawn down against the core 20 by means of aspring 27 suitably connected to the plate 26. I

What is claimed is:

'1. A machine for making a tight-wound, convolute-layer tube including aturnable core, means to feed a flat strip blank thereto,

a spinning, friction platen, means to press the coiling tube to theplaten, and means to eject the tube from the core; said pressing meansincluding an endless traveling presser belt to arch on the coiling tubeon the core.

3. A machine for making a tight-wound lube, including a spinning,friction platen, a turnable core adjacent to the platen, means to feed astrip of stock to the platen and core, means to compress the windingtube layers, and means to eject the finished tube.

4. A machine for making a tight-wound tube, including a spinning,friction platen, a turnable core adjacent to the platen, means to feed astrip of stock to the platen and core, means to compress the windingtube layers, means to eject the finished tube, and means to move thecompressing means to ineffective position before the ejector acts.

5. A machine for making a tight-wound tube, including a spinning,friction platen, a turnable core adjacent to the platen, means to feed astrip of stock to the platen and core, means to compress the windingtube layers, means to eject the finished tube, and means to move thecompressing means to ineffective position before the ejector acts; saidplaten including a friction device to spin the winding tube, and meansto move the tube from contact with the friction device before theejector acts.

6. A machine for making a tight-Wound tube, including a spinning,friction platen, a turnable core adjacent to the platen, means to feed astrip of stock to the platen and core, means to compress the windingtube layers, means to eject the finished tube, and means to move thecompressing means to ineffective position before the ejector acts; saidplaten including a friction device to spin the winding tube, means tomove the tube from contact with the friction device before the ejectoracts, and means to move the wound tube from the platen and thecompressing means out of effective position before the ejector acts.

7. A tube Winding machine including means to build a convolute-woundtube from strip stock, means to crimp the ribbon during the windingoperation, and means for subjecting the ribbon to a compacting pressureto crease down the crimp fold on the tube windings.

8. A tube winding machine including a turnable core, a spinning,friction platen adjacent to the core, means to feed a strip ofribbondike material to the platen and the core, a pressure deviceadjacent to the core to press on the winding strip and compact it,

' and means for forming a fold in the strip as it passes between thesaid device and the bodv of the tube. a

9. A tube winding machine including a turnable core, a spinning,friction plateiradjacent to the core, means to feed a strip ofribbon-like material to the platen and the core, a pressure deviceadjacent to the core to press on the winding strip and compact it, andmeans for forming a fold in the strip as it passes between the saiddevice and the body of the tube; said means including ablade movableagainst the strip to form a fold in it.

10. A tube winding machine including a turn able core, a spinning,friction platen adjacent to the core, means to feed a strip ofribbon-like material to the platen and the core, pressure deviceadjacent to the core to press on the winding strip and compact it, andmeans for forming a fold in the strip as it passes between the saiddevice and the body of tee tube; said means including a blade movab eagainst the strip to form a fi'ild in it and a guide channel coactingwith the blade to make the fold.

11. It iire-crac -zer tube machine including a laterally s -tzble,turnable core, means to feed a strip end thereto. a spinning platen,means pressing the winding on the core to the platen to eilectrotation.1.ans to laterally s.. the loaded core from the platen, and means toeject the tube from the core.

machine for winding fire-cracker having winding core, means to spin thecore as a strip of stock fed thereto, means to apply adh '\'e to thetrailing end of the strip, means to press the adhesive Zone of the stripto the wound tube on the core, and means for mailing a crimp in thestrip prior to pasting: down the trailing end.

13. in a tube making machine. a winding core, a guide channel leading astrip end thereto, means to spin the core to wind the tape thereon, ablade operative to fold a crimp in the strip as it winds on the core,and means to shift the said channel to facilitate the crimping action.

WILLIAM F. GGNGAVVARE.

